People. People are hard to deal with. Some of us are better at it than others, and I wanted to give you an idea on ways to deal with the people you might meet in the gym – its getting wet out and unfortunately I think many of us will be logging extra hours there soon. That said, while this offers some tips for socializing in the gym, don’t feel like you have to be social at all. Seriously, its perfectly ok to go in, do your thing, talk to nobody, and go home again.
Dealing with Newbies: The new year is here, and with it, resolutions to get into the gym. Everyone was a newb (or is it noob?) at one point. Generally speaking, they are harmless, but there are a few flavors of the uninitiated.
Regular Newbs: These are your every day new climber. Maybe they’re feeling self conscious, unaware that none of us care how hard they climb. Be friendly, welcome them into our community. Maybe they are super stoked, a little too stoked, and rambling on about a bunch of climbing trivia stuff that is or isn’t fact. Generally I leave these ones alone, they’ll learn in time. There is one kind of greenhorn you can’t ignore though…..
Dangerous Newbs: If someone is new and ignorant to the fact that climbing is dangerous (you know, morons), you should make an attempt to highlight and correct the behavior. Warn people when they walk under others in the bouldering area. For goofy looking belays, I generally just flag down a staff member and ask that they keep an eye on it – I don’t speak for the gym on what belay techniques are ok (hell I use slip-slap-slide – fight me), but if someone is standing there with both hands off the ATC taking a cell photo, don’t hesitate to say something. One thing you do need to mind is addressing belay situations calmly – spooking a climber on the far end of a suspect setup is not going to help things.
Dealing with the cool kids: Inevitably there exists an “in-crowd” in any establishment, and at times it can seem exclusionary. The reality is, you paid as much as they did to be there, the space is just as much yours as it is theirs. Don’t be intimidated, and just do your thing. Also, they’ll move off the pads under your project if you ask – turns out being cool doesn’t make you immune to being fallen on.
Dealing with children: Namely, unsupervised children. They lack the indepth understanding of physics that tell the rest of us that being crushed by an adult is a real and terrible possibility. My personal policy is to attempt to locate the parents and/or staff to have a chat with them about safety. If something truly bad is aligning, obviously warn the child to move, and in the bouldering cave I will put myself between them and the climber as a spotter and obstruction.
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| They’ll crush your proj next week anyway… if you don’t flatten them |
When someone is using all the wrong beta: Nothing. Say nothing. If you can’t help yourself, you can try a phrase like, “would you like to know what works for me?” Under no circumstances should you giveshout beta unsolicited. Seriously, don’t be that guy. And for the love of God if you shout beta at me while I’m still on the wall, I will throw a chalk pot at you. Not mine though, I like mine.
Talking to the Ladies: See above. Ladies are people. Earth-shattering, I know. Talk to them the same way you talk to the rest of the people.
Hitting on the Hottie: Just… don’t. HeShe is just there to get a workout in, in a safe space. Nobody should have to deal with creeps in the gym. I’m not saying you can’t introduce yourself to someone you find attractive – plenty of relationships start in a gym, bonded in common interest. Don’t be like this person:
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| Yes this is a real review of ET Rockville. |
When someone obviously wants to be left alone: You can tell this type. They show up, nod to the staff and a few other regulars, compulsory hellos. Before long they are in a relatively quiet corner of the gym, being spit off something over and over, and each time muttering to themselves about how they consider themselves fat, lazy, weak, and tired. These people are curmudegeons who are just there to blow off steam after a stressful day, and probably take themselves a bit too seriously. They might even be bloggers. The best way to deal with these people is unannounced hugs.
Just kidding – leave them alone, they’ll leave as soon as a crowd forms in whatever area they are in anyway. Some day they will have a better day and give you the polite nod too.
